Children’s Ministry Resources
Godly Play & Children’s Sermons
What are we here for?
We meet here to talk about Godly Play, to share what it’s all about and to discuss how to do it better.
The weekly blog posts are designed to help Sunday school teachers prepare for their Godly Play lessons, and the individual pages (see the tabs at the top of this page) share information about how we do Godly Play at First Baptist Church, Greenville, SC.
We’d love to hear from teachers everywhere, not just the ones at our church! We hope you’ll join our circle and share your ideas!
What Godly Play is Not
Godly Play is quite different from the traditional model in which the teacher tells the children what they need to know. Godly Play is not about things that are that simple. It is not just about learning lessons or keeping children entertained. It is about locating each lesson in the whole system of Christian language and involving the creative process to discover the depths of meaning in them.
What is Godly Play?
According to the Godly Play Foundation, Godly Play is a creative and imaginative approach to Christian nurture.
Godly Play is about understanding how each of the stories of God’s people connects with the child’s own experience and relationship with God.
Godly Play respects the innate spirituality of children and encourages curiosity and imagination in experiencing the mystery and joy of God.
Read more about Godly Play here.
How do we do Godly Play at First Baptist Greenville?
Christians of many different denominations use Godly Play and probably do it differently, even within the same denomination. In this blog, I describe Godly Play by sharing the way our church does it. That doesn’t mean that it’s the best way or the prescribed way, or the only way, of course, but it’s the way that suits us best.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Welcome to the Parable of the Mustard Seed, found in Matthew 13:31-32, Mark 4:30-32, and Luke 13:18-19.
The children love this parable, and if you help them process it through the wondering questions, they’re sure to come up with some profound thoughts and ideas.The wondering questions are in the book. I’ll have them printed out for you. Thank you for documenting the children’s responses. They’re so interesting for the parents-and for the rest of us!
Now, for some ideas to spark their imaginations as they do their work, making a gift to God…
1. How big do they imagine the mustard seed growing? Why not lay out butcher paper on the floor and let the children draw the tree? I’ve seen a class of fours do this, so I know all of ours can do it to. One team of kids could draw and fill in the tree, another do the leaves, another do the birds and birds’ nests, and another do the sower.
Our fourth grade class did this once and it turned out great!
2. Children could individually glue a seed to a paper and draw what the tree will grow to be.
3. Kids could make a mustard tree out of pipe cleaners. They could even add birds!
5. The kids could make their own parable box for this one. There’s felt in the resource room for the different parts, and they could also make a person out of a clothespin, birds and nests out of clay.
6. Make a mustard seed necklace as shown here
7. Sample different kids of mustard with pretzels or crackers as a snack.
Check out my Pinterest page here for more ideas.
Enjoy!
Love, Becky
For Children’s Sermons,
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